Which Glue

[tony roth]

For building furniture (tables (top glue-ups), chairs, etc., all for indoor use) out of hardwoods (cherry, oak, walnut, ash, etc.), can i just use plain old yellow wood glue (titebond I, etc.) and is there any benefit to trying something like titebond III, gorilla, etc.? thanks, tony.

[Andrew Ault]

Plain old Titebond is usually the best choice. It is viscous enough to stay in place (unlike white glue) and has a moderate open time. It cleans up with water (unlike polyurethane). If you have a complex assembly and need more open time, Titebond Extend is good.

Titebond III offers longer open time and much greater water resistance compared to regular yellow glue. I use Gorilla Glue (polyurethane) for outdoor applications, but cleanup is a pain - I wear gloves.

There are many other types of glues that offer various strengths and weaknesses. For example animal hide glue can be steamed apart and can be repaired easily. But, for all around good results and ease of use, plain yellow glue is tough to beat.

Remember that it must be fresh to work well. If you have an old bottle and the glue is stringy, it is no good. You need to clamp joints together until the glue sets. You can either clean up squeeze out with a sponge or wet rag or wait until it is set up well and use a chisel to clean off the excess. As with most modern glues, a good joint will be very, very strong.

-Andy

[Chris Cordina]

I agree titebond yellow is the way to go for most things. If it is a complicated glue up use titebond liquid hide glue, yellow grabs to fast and does not easily let you reposition parts.(indoor only)

[Jim Becker]

I pretty much "standardized" on Titebond II several years ago, although I do have a small bottle of Titebond III. I prefer to stay with one glue most of the time largely because as a weekend-warrior, I don't want to waste the stuff...it does have a shelf life. I don't like polyurethane glues generally but would use them for demanding outdoor projects.

[Tom Saurer]

Bob Smalser wrote an article awhile ago that pretty well disparaged yellow glues in general. I have used Titebond II, III, and Gorilla Glue, but I haven't had a chance to move over to Epoxy for Formeldhyde glues, yet. Based on Bob's experiences and tests I would be inclined to try them.

I personally don't like the mess Gorilla Glues makes and so I try to avoid it as much as possible.